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Author Topic: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig  (Read 9034 times)

jkreish

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Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« on: April 15, 2016, 05:32:06 PM »
Anybody out there using the Sony a6000 for full body capture? The sharpness of the camera is pretty awesome, but I'm concerned about triggering. Any insight into using this camera for multi-cam (50+) rigs would be welcome! Thanks!

FLuca

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #1 on: April 20, 2016, 02:59:29 PM »
Yes triggering might be an issue, the only connector available for remote control is a micro USB hence you need an 'intelligent' electronic triggering system instead of simple switches on Canon cameras.
And with USB, unless you have one dedicated electronic triggering system for each camera, forget about sync triggering as as far as I know and my experiments, USB is a peer-to-peer communication and does not allow broadcast signal to trigger all. With 50 cams, you will wait a long time between the first and last cam triggering.
If I were you I would also be concerned about camera setting control and image download
The only option I have found for tethering this cam is the sony provided software (limited and does it support multi-cams?) and lightroom with additional plugin.
But the best thing is that you buy your dream cam and try by-yourself
Good luck
Fred
Fred Lucazeau - Body Scan - www.another-me.fr
Sketchfab gallery: https://sketchfab.com/fredlucazeau

James

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #2 on: April 20, 2016, 05:31:56 PM »
Looks like you might be able to wire up a dumb triggering system, based on the info at this link:

http://www.doc-diy.net/photo/remote_pinout/

I don't have much experience of that kind of thing though. Closest we have is a rig of just 3 canon dslrs, and we have someone who wired those up for me using relays ;D

FLuca

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #3 on: April 20, 2016, 05:44:56 PM »
I hope for you that the USB cable they provide with the camera have all pins connected, like that you can hack it.
Because it will be hard to find these specific connectors with 10 pins instead of 5 in the regular micro-USB connectors.
Relays are a good option, but requires a lot of wiring or printed boards for 50 cams as 2 contacts are usually required to trigger the cam (focus + shoot)
I have developed my own boards and it works very well.
Fred Lucazeau - Body Scan - www.another-me.fr
Sketchfab gallery: https://sketchfab.com/fredlucazeau

jkreish

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #4 on: May 03, 2016, 06:41:32 PM »
Thanks for all the info, friends.

James, that pinout was almost really helpful, but I think the multiterminal connector only has 5 pins (unless I'm wrong on that).

Here's my gameplan:
- Buy a couple multiterminal to 3.5mm remote shutter cables (http://www.vellogear.com/detail?sku=1053361)
- Use multimeter to determine which pins control the shutter.
- Attempt to build break-out "Y" cable, one end has the multiterminal connector, the other two are a 3.5mm jack for focus/shutter release and a USB connector for data dump. Hopefully simply redirecting the necessary leads to their respective connectors will be straightforward. My worry is that the USB data uses the same pins as the focus/shutter, just in a different way. We'll see I guess.

I'm sure I'll run into some more problems along the way, but that's the fun! I'll let you know how this goes. It'll be interesting to find out if the USB cable can be connected and still allow shutter triggering.

jkreish

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #5 on: May 04, 2016, 08:10:37 PM »
Update:

The multiterminal jack has both the 10 pin connections that James posted above, and also a set of 5 pin connections for the USB data transfer and charging (the more easily visible part of the multiterminal port on the camera). See the attached picture of a shutter release cable that I tore apart.

The included USB cable that came with the camera has a short connector, only providing the 5 pin part (which is the shallower part of the multiterminal port on the camera). The shutter release cable connector is longer, providing both the 10 pin connections and the 5 pin connections. The 10 pin portion goes deeper into the multiterminal port, thus the connector is longer.

So I believe this is good news. The triggering functions seem to be separate from the data transfer functions. I'm waiting on a couple multiterminal-to-USB cables to come in so I can tear them apart and see how the wires are connected. Ideally, I'll be able to cut off the multiterminal connector and connect the wires to the 5 pin part of the shutter release cable.

More to follow!

tokitobuvy

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Re: Sony a6000 for Full Body Scan Rig
« Reply #6 on: April 26, 2017, 02:10:01 PM »
Sony has released Touchless Shutter, a new app that allows you to trigger your Sony camera without touching it at all.
Rather than pressing the shutter button or using a remote trigger, you simply wave your hand in front of your camera’s eye proximity sensor and the shutter will fire. For those using the functionality in bulb mode for long exposures, you simply place your hand in front of the sensor twice to start and once more when you want the camera shutter to close.The app is currently in beta form and can be used with a number of Sony mirrorless and compact cameras including the NEX–5R, NEX–5T, NEX 6, RX100 III, a7S, A7 II and more. You can find a full list of supported cameras and the installation instructions on Sony A6000 Manual. Good Luck.